FAITH CAPSULE: Most times our life in this world is affected by the words of our mouth.

Numbers 14
 
The same God yesterday, today and tomorrow stated, “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24). By virtue of this scriptural verse, it is clear why David stated in both 2 Samuel 22:4, Psalm 18:3, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthytobepraised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.” God said He will hear before they call and David said ‘I will call’. David was sure of getting result because he demonstrated that there is answer in calling on the only One that hears before we call. Just as the Lord promised to answer before they call, He also stated that He will hear while they are speaking. This is evident with the children of Israel. During one of Israelites rebellious complaints, all they were speaking were heard by God and God responded, “…I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you” (Numbers 14:27-28). The One that gives ear does have ear to hear. It is important to know that God answers call and He also hears while we speak. What are you communicating to God or before God? Most times our life in this world is affected by the words of our mouth. The Bible is true when it states that, “Deathandlife are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21) Often times when positive is communicated, positive becomes one’s portion because the One that hears does not stop hearing at every moment that we speak. This is the reason why the book of Ecclesiastes 5:6 says, “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error…” As much as there is nowhere to hide from God, it is true that our words cannot go by Him without Him hearing us. Why not abstain from communicating negative words but speak positive words to His hearing?
At every calling on God, do you mention His name? Know that, “…you who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent and give Him no rest till He establishes…” (Isaiah 62:6-7). Calling on His name and not keeping quiet over our expectation is what Jesus referred to when He commanded us in His Parable of the Persistent Widow stating that men always ought to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18).
Why not take God for His word and open your mouth wide for Him to fill it? (Psalm 81:10)
 
Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be waiting on Him in every area of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: A faithfully faith-full man will always be faultless and live life as an overcomer.

Daniel 6
 
Daniel was described as a faithful man. Indeed, many do proclaim to have faith but extremely few are faithfully faith-full. When one is faithfully faith-full like Daniel, one will be definitely faultless before any man just as Daniel was faultless. When the evil plan to get rid of Daniel was orchestrated by governors and satraps, it was by sending him into the hungry lion’s den. It is written, “…but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”(Daniel 6:4-6) As regard to Daniel, the above scriptural verse confession of the wicked governors and satraps is what it means to be faithful (faithfully faith-full)  
Inhabited in Daniel’s purposeful heart is his schedule of maintaining a communication line with his God. Making a journey glorious demands a consciously established communicating line with heaven and not waiting for overwhelming challenges before scrambling for prayer support. When it was time to orchestrate evil against Daniel by the governors and satraps, he elevated himself to upper room, “…with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” (Daniel 6:10) Instead of calling around for prayer help he went by his schedule. Daniel’s custom was his schedule in meeting and connecting with his God. He did not do it in hiding because he opened his windows right in the face of his enemies. With Daniel’s custom approach to God, there shall never be a want for young or old lions when Daniel is present.
Daniel feared God, he purposed at the beginning of his captivity journey not to subject himself to the comfort of this world when he refused the kings provision.
Whatever you are in the eyes of man by virtue of your challenges is not what counts. Daniel was a captive in the eyes of man but a captain general in the eyes of the Almighty General. His purposeful heart also granted him the grace to continually serve God. King Darius, as much as he desired to deliver Daniel, could not deliver him from going into the den of hungry lions. God was to be glorified in Daniel’s deliverance. As a result, “…the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” (Daniel 6:16) A king that does not know the God of Daniel recognized in Daniel that continuity in serving the God of Daniel is the price for greatness.
 
Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be constantly consistent lining your life up in the word of God.

FAITH CAPSULE: The favor obtained by Daniel’s action at the start of his journey made it impossible for any door to be shut on Daniel

Daniel 1
 
Most times the way we start our journey determines how we conclude the journey. This is to say that the end can be affected in the beginning.For example; Daniel’s deliverance from the den of hungry lions was in the beginning of his life as a captive. At the beginning of his captivity he determined not to let the comfortable position that was offered by the King dislocate him from where he was going and how he was going to get through. Imagine Daniel, a captive, appointed for the King’s provision. Daniel had the option to opt for all the goodies in the provision of the King and forget his background. Instead, Daniel rejected the King’s provision with a purposeful decision and the Bible recorded, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.” (Daniel 1:8-9)It is obvious from the above scriptural quotation that the favor of God opened doors for Daniel because he shuts his door on the king’s provision. The favor obtained by Daniel’s action made it impossible for any door to be shut on Daniel as he navigated through the journey of life in captivity.
Favor bestowed on Daniel gave him his direct line of communication to heaven every time that he encountered life terminating challenges. Evidently, God’s answering of our prayer is favor of God. Also, understanding how to pray and what to pray about gets our prayer answered because the Bible states, “Good understanding gains favor…” (Proverbs 13:15) Getting answer to prayer is the favor of God. With favor in place Daniel operated with wisdom that was not common, wisdom that rooted out all kinds of evil agenda that was set for him to fall and to fail.
Favor is an identifier and it identifies Daniel as a captive when he drew the line for himself not to violate his God despite is status as a young captive in a foreign land. Daniel had a purposeful heart and gained favor that marked him as a distinguished one with excellent spirit. Daniel was no longer an ordinary one, “…because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.” (Daniel 6:3) Are you purposeful or faithfully faith-full for God? How did you get started on your journey? Watch for its direct effect on how journey is going to be concluded.

Prayer for today:Ask for the grace of God to see you through.

FAITH CAPSULE: Before God, there is no excuse to do wrong in the right way or to do right in the wrong way.

2 Samuel 6
 
God gave His command to Adam, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)Adam made the choice of violating God’s command by responding to Eve’s suggestion of eating from the forbidden tree. At the time of God’s visitation to Adam and Eve, God asked for the reason why they ate from the forbidden tree and Adam responded to God stating, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12) Adam’s response to God’s question was an indirect excuse for his disobedience and a way of putting blame on God for his own act of disobedience. Before the Perfect God, there is no excuse to do wrong in the right way or to do right in the wrong way. God demands a full compliance to His command without any excuse for disobedience. Adam had a very appealing reason, but action is what weighs before God. Just like Adam’s violation, Uzzah, the son of Abinadab, violated God’s word. Uzzah did the right wrongly when he put out his hand to the ark of God in attempt to prevent it from falling when the ox which was transporting the ark stumbled. In response to Uzzah’s hands on the ark, the Bible records, “Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:7) Uzzah, by virtue of his good heart to do right for the business of God, did wrong by violating God’s command which was in place as recorded in Numbers 4:15, “…but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.” The ark was not to be touched. The law was specific that the ark was to be carried by the sons of Kohath; not by any other means of transportation. The Psalmist described God’s character stating, “All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.” (Psalm 25:10) Indeed God is merciful and very true to His Word; however, there is no way out whatsoever in violating His Word because His testimonies are very consistent from the past to the future. Are you doing right wrongly or doing wrong rightly? With God, doing right in the right way is all that counts. Also, there is no excusable excuse that counts. Adam had the greatest excuse and nevertheless, it did not count.
 
Prayer for today:Let me not be missing my steps in any of Your path for I put my trust in You.

FAITH CAPSULE: The price for Him not to leave us nor forsake us is to always do what pleases Him.

John 8:28-43
 
The word of God that you put to work and does not answer on your behalf is because you have not worked the works of the word. Jesus was asked by the people that went following Him,“…what shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered saying to them, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Do you believe in the word of God? Believing in the word of God is behaving the word of God.
Often times, believers engage in quoting the Word of God that states “He will not leave me nor forsake me.” (Joshua 1:5) However, quoting the Word of God without having engaged in what it takes to bring it to work is the evidence of lack of knowledge. One that lack knowledge of the word is not living the word. One that does not live the word is not working the works of the word. It is not possible to get God committed to His word when we are not committed to working His word. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith once made a statement in John 8:29, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” After having quoted the word, have you ever found yourself in a situation of being left alone? Jesus was working the works of God indeed and in truth and He was never left alone all throughout His ministry on the face of this earth. Whenever Jesus spoke, His words were backed with power because the Father was always with Him. Are you confessing it that He will never leave you nor forsake you? You have missed it if your words are empty. Are you paying the price that will cause Him not to leave you nor forsake you? Jesus paid the price and that is an example for us to follow if we desire for the Father not to leave us. The price for Him not to leave us nor forsake us is to always do what pleases Him. Pleasing God is the secret. Hebrew 11:6 states it that, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Today, consider the need to live the word of God so that you will begin to avoid empty quotations that are not backed with power. The word of God was, is, and will always be true if one pays the price that is behind every word. To sound the word of God, one will have to obey the word of God.
 
Prayer for today: Ask Him for the grace to keep His Word.